"Dear Santa..."

It's a tradition at the Mountain Home News each Christmas to print letters submitted to Santa Claus by local area children. These wish lists were collected with the help of the "elves" at the Mountain Home Fire Department, who were designated by Santa to help answer letters sent to the North Pole.

Children dropped off their letters to Santa Claus at a special North Pole-only mailbox in front of the Mountain Home News up until yesterday's letter deadline.

With Santa's permission, the elves allowed us to reprint some of the letters delivered to Santa, who held onto a few of them because he thought they were special. The letters offer insight into the thoughts of children at Christmas and the types of gifts kids want these days.

For the complete list, pick up a copy of the Dec. 17 edition of the Mountain Home News.